Global Information Technology Report ranks Kazakhstan 55th, 12 points up
ASTANA. April 7. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan was ranked 55th out of 142 countries in a Global Information Technology Report 2012. The report released in co-operation with the French INSEAD international business school was presented at the World Economic Forum's press conference in New York on April 4.
For Kazakhstan, its presence in the report reflects the decade long development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in all spheres and administration of the country. Wide and consistent implementation of information technologies in Kazakhstan such as e-government has enabled improvement of various spheres in a short time period. It also helped remove excessive barriers in bussiness licensing with the introduction of the e-License web-portal, facilitate customs services, provide e-government payment gateway, the Kazakh MFA's press service said.
Back in 2004, after "The Concept of e-Government" was approved, the strategic framework for its implementation was developed. The main purpose of the ICT implementation was defined as to provide a variety of services, covering all spheres of people's life as well as to provide full data review on administrative processes. Since then, Kazakhstan has achieved great success shifting from rank 73 out of 134 countries in 2009 to rank 55 out of 142 in 2012.
The leaders of the ICT implementation, according to the report, are Sweden, Singapore and Finland.
The coverage of 142 economies worldwide provides the most comprehensive international assessment of the information technology impact on growth, sustainability, and the well-being of nations. It provides basis to global dialogue on best policies and actions that will enhance national ICT development and innovation potential.
The World Economic Forum positions itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The organisation was established in 1971 with the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.